It is hard to believe the prime minister. It is not that he is lying, but that he is shaving the truth so thin that the difference between one and the other is indistinguishable.

In the matter of who did what in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, the prime minister appears to have the advantage over Jody Wilson-Raybould in that he can hold press conferences.

Unfortunately, he has squandered that advantage by actually holding them.

The prime minister is at his best in sunny ways mode — happy, cheerful, carefree; the Liberals are good, the Tories are evil, all’s right with the world now that we are in charge, that kind of thing.

But when he holds press conferences in robotic, on-message, carefully scripted, this-is-a-matter-I-take-very-seriously mode it becomes uncomfortable to watch.

At least having set up his straw man, Trudeau was consistent in knocking him down

Last week’s press conference after allegations surfaced that Wilson-Raybould had been “pressured” to let SNC-Lavalin off lightly on bribery charges was downright painful.

No one had “directed” Wilson-Raybould, the prime minister said three times, ignoring direct questions that went to the heart of the allegation. At least having set up his straw man, Trudeau was consistent in knocking him down.

Tuesday night’s press conference in Winnipeg was no less uncomfortable and certainly more confusing. The prime minister, again repeatedly on message, made certain assertions which really didn’t clarify the matter.

Governor General David Johnston and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau watch as Jody Wilson-Raybould is sworn in as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada on Nov. 4, 2015.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The prime minister said he was surprised and disappointed at Wilson-Raybould’s decision to quit — fine so far. The government did its job — OK, clear on that, too. If anyone thought otherwise they had a duty to come to him — and this is where it gets confusing.

The prime minister appeared to have set up some form of incomplete syllogism with the viewer asked to form the conclusion.

What was Trudeau saying?

Was he saying: If someone thought the government acted improperly then someone should have come to him. No one came to him. (Our conclusion: The government acted properly.)

Or was he saying: If someone thought the government had acted improperly then someone should have come to him. Jody Wilson-Raybould never went to him. (Our conclusion: Wilson Raybould didn’t do her job. She should have gone to the prime minister with allegations of being pressured.)

To labour the point, the prime minister said if anyone — “particularly the attorney general” — felt the government was not abiding by the rules then they had a duty to come forward.

But heavily implying that Wilson-Raybould didn’t do her job raises a rather tricky issue for the prime minister. Having cast doubt on the honour and honesty of the former attorney general, Trudeau must now allow her to speak.

He cannot hide behind his fear of “unintended consequences” should he waive client-lawyer privilege. Because he has been very clear on this type of issue before, even if the subject matter was different.

In July last year, he addressed allegations that he groped a woman in British Colombia almost two decades ago.

On that occasion, he said: “Part of this awakening we’re having as a society, a long-awaited realization, is that it’s not just one side of the story that matters. That the same interactions can be experienced very differently from one person to the next.

“I am not going to speak for the woman in question. I would never presume to speak for her. But I know that there is an awful lot of reflection to be had as we move forward as a society on how people perceive different interactions.”

Wilson-Raybould’s side of the story very much matters. She obviously experienced some interactions very differently.

For no good reason, his staff took a huge chunk of Trudeau’s feminist and reconciliation bona fides and ran them through the woodchipper

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